WOW! iPhone plans and prices are dropping faster than Rogers stock these days. With a 22 country launch on Friday (and a few days later in France -- vive la difference, eh?), some with multiple co-exclusive carriers, each with different tiers of service (from cheap, all-you-can-eat unlimited to tiny $$$ per byte ultra-rip-offs) it's a lot to keep track of -- but we're still going to try!

Read on for the good, the bad, and a lot of ugly!

Rogers/Fido Canada - WAR!

On the Canadian front (and yes, it is a war here people!) rumors of an Apple/Rogers falling out are probably going to fall out. My guess? Nothing much there unless Rogers is fanning the scarcity flame in order to get people who might be sitting on the fence or holding it to suddenly panic and rush the line on Friday. Apple Stores in Canada, unlike the US, have only pointed to Rogers/Fido for availability, and if Apple is sending units away from Canada to Europe, it may have more to do with the power of the Euro. (Nintendo's been accused of doing that with the Wii for months to profit from the stronger currency).

Telcel Mexico

2 year contracts south of south of the border in Mexico as well: MX$459/599/799 for 200/300/400 min., 100/150/200 SMS and MBs of data, with the 8GB handset going for MX$3419/2159/889 and the 16GB for MX$4689/3419/2159.

Ayaiyai! That's US$77 for a tiny 200MB!

Vodafone New Zealand

The good news? Due to the international date line, New Zealand will be getting the iPhone first and Hawaii last. In Aukland, New Zealand, the lineup is already forming to be the first (after a certain Portuguese un-boxer) to get the blessed device.

The bad news? They'll be paying out the pouch for it. 2 year contracts for NZ$80/130/250 for 120/250/600 min., 600 SMS, and 250/500/1000MB of data and 8GB handsets for NZ$549/449/199 and 16GB for NZ$699/599/359.

Ouch! That's US$189 for 1GB of data! Once again, the closer you are to a pole, the higher your prices!

Optimus Portugal

Thanks to Mário for sending this in!

Optimus (Orange) in Portugal has pre-paid, post-paid monthly, and 2-year contract prices. Contract minimum monthly usage plans are €30/45/64 which get you €0.149/0.129/0.099 per minute or SMS, 100/300/500 free in-network SMS, and MB of data, with the 8GB handset running €250/200/150 and 16GB, €350/300/250.

Vodafone Portugal

Meanwhile, Vodaphone is offering the Portuguese 2 year contracts as well: €29.90/44.90/64.90, with 100/230/500 min. and SMS, and a miserly 250MB of data, with an 8GB handset going for €299/219/129 and 16GB for €389/309/219.

Yikes! That's US$102 for 250MB?!

AT&T USA

AT&T Mobility's President of Network Services has his own podcast where he goes over iPhone 3G performance. Check it out.

Apple's VP of Retail, Ron Johnson, tried to set expectations: he claims they'll be taking 30 customers at a time, be able to handle 100 customers an hour, and aim to complete activation in 10-15 min. But they won't rush you if you want to take your time (though the crowd behind you, torches and pitchforks in hand, might help keep you moving at a brisk pace!)

Reader comments

I live in NZ here and I am actually very disappointed with the pricing of the iPhone plans from Vodafone. With such high prices and ridiculous rates, one can only call this highway robbery. Unfortunately, even after months of waiting, and scouring the net for news on the iPhone 3G, I probably won't be able to get one on July 11th. It's not the price itself, but it's because Vodafone think that just because they're the only carrier to sell the iPhone in NZ, they think they can charge us anything and we'll walk in like sheep to make a purchase. I will not succumb to Vodafone, and I will not buy an iPhone until the prices drop. ):
I hope everyone enjoys their new Apple toy, oh how I envy you... I know I'm not the only one in NZ to feel this way. Check out the Campbell Live interview with the Vodafone representative for the iPhone pricing. You'll see how really disgusting they are

I feel your pain. Globally, the telcos need to wake up. Eventually internet access will be as ubiquitous as power, both cabled to your home, and batteries on the go. We'll just always be "on" (though hopefully not in a Matrix sense!)

The 3G iPhone will be the first iPhone to arrive in the Netherlands, so finally we can buy it legal. However, the carrier exclusivity unfortunately applies here also. If we don't get decent data rates, I will hunt those execs down and kill them! ;)
I also really hope that the overall contract will be reasonable, with some value for my money...

Just went this morning to renew my Telcel contract in Tijuana with a 16GB iphone, they tried to rip me, asault me, etc telling me that I have two pay more than $500US dollars to get this kind of phone with a monthly fee of around $130US dollars...man I have been their customer for more than 12 years!!!
The weird thing is that if I sign a New contract I only have to pay $250.00 for the phone...very bad for their old customers...and In Mexico you can not keep your old number...screw Telcel!!!!

It's unbelievable the prices the carriers are offering for some countries. The data transfer rates are ridiculous. How's this supposed to be an "internet" device without going broke?!
To give some perspective: in Portugal the national minimum wage is about 400 euros — that's US$636.395.
The only way this is going to work with its full potential is with an always-On data connection.

Over 23,000 signatures have been collected for Mexico's very own iPhone petition. Telcel's 3 plans include a mere 100-200 MB of Data, and if you go over they charge you around $4 dollars per megabyte. The so called Unlimited Plan switches to the slower 128Kbps network when you reach 3 GB; not such a great deal at $140 dollars per month.
We need to get the international media's attention. See for yourself at http://www.nelpastel.com/
Please help us spread the word.